At the very core of a revolution lies the radical transformation of the individual, which is ear-marked by the dissolution of fear of the consequences for speaking and acting in accordance with good conscience.

More people are starting to awaken to the realities of our world – the good: human energies, medicinal properties of plants, the power of meditation, universal consciousness – the bad: the assault on natural health, genetically-modified foods, chemtrails, electromagnetic pollution – and the ugly: toxic disasters, deforestation, corruption, greed, endless war, cancer.

With this awakening comes greater awareness of the role that an individual’s acquiescence to intrusions on personal liberty plays in supporting the system. The awakening process naturally compels one into developing the courage to risk inconveniences like expulsion, humiliation, arrest, fines and jail-time, or worse, in order to live in a accordance with principle and common sense. Courageous non-compliance to ridiculous government edicts and rules, as well as to the opinion’s of others, is the highest form of protest, but often carries penalties, both social and legal.

So, what price are some paying for being ‘awake?’

Expulsion and Loss of Opportunity

Implementation of location tracking radio-frequency ID (RFID) technology has been underway for many years now, with governments putting RFID chips into passports, vehicle registration stickers and license plates, medical institutions using these chips on infants and Alzheimer’s patients, and corporations using RFID to track employees and inventory. Often the reasons given for the implementation of this technology are security and increased efficiency. Yet, many are justifiably concerned that RFID can and is already being used to compromise our civil liberties and invade personal privacy.

“With tags in so many objects, relaying information to databases that can be linked to credit and bank cards, almost no aspect of life may soon be safe from the prying eyes of corporations and governments”. - Mark Rasch, former head of the computer-crime unit of the U.S. Justice Department (Seattle Times)

Schools, such as Northside Independent School District (NISD) in San Antonio, Texas, are starting to use RFID-equipped ID badges to stay aware of students’ locations while they are on campus in an effort to reduce truancy and tardiness. Yet, students are standing up for their right to privacy. Andrea Hernandez, sophomore at NISD’s John Jay High School, is a great example; she has refused to wear the RFID badge.

“What we’re teaching kids is that they live in a total surveillance state and if they do not comply, they will be punished. There has to be a point at which schools have to show valid reasons why they’re doing this.” – John Whitehead, civil liberties lawyer and founder of the Rutherford Institute (ZDnet.com)

Andrea Hernandez is being expelled from John Jay HS and her program at the Science and Engineering Academy. Her father, Steven Hernandez, objects to his daughter wearing the tracking device, citing Biblical concerns. He compares the RFID cards to the “mark of the beast” in the Book of Revelation.

Publicly criticizing the school in this way has prompted school officials to offer immunity to his daughter if Mr. Hernandez would in turn hush up and stop encouraging others to stand up to this Orwellian policy. They offered to remove the chip from Andrea’s card in exchange for the family to end its criticism of the “Student Locator Program.”

“[A]s part of the accommodation my daughter and I would have to agree to stop criticizing the program and publicly support … it. I told [the Deputy Superintendent] that was unacceptable because it would imply an endorsement of the district’s policy and my daughter and I should not have to give up our constitutional rights to speak out against a program that we feel is wrong.” – Steven Hernandez (InfoWars.com)

In this case, a bright young high school kid is risking being expelled from school, the bravery and astuteness of Andrea Hernandez and her family has inspired many others in her school district to speak out – 300 more students now refuse to wear the RFID badges and about 700 more have signed a petition opposing the use of RFID-equipped badges, giving reasons such as religious beliefs and concerns about civil liberties and personal privacy.

Unjust Criminal Punishment and Public Humiliation

There is a growing concern among the American public about the use of increasingly invasive and potentially harmful body scanners at airports, and the lack of unbiased third-party testing on the potential dangers of using these scanners. This is doubled by the growing abuses conducted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which was created to oversee airport security in the US after 9-11.

We are writing to call your attention to serious concerns about the potential health risks of the recently adopted whole body backscatter X-ray airport security scanners. This is an urgent situation as these X-ray scanners are rapidly being implemented as a primary screening step for all air travel passengers. Our overriding concern is the extent to which the safety of this scanning device has been adequately demonstrated. - Doctors John Sedat Ph.D., David Agard, Ph.D., Marc Shuman, M.D., Robert Stroud, Ph.D., all of whom are faculty at the University of California, San Francisco (Natural News)

Created in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the TSA was charged with providing effective and efficient security for passenger and freight transportation in the United States. It has since become one of the Department of Homeland Security’s most visible and costly means of clamping down on Americans domestically, boasting an $8 billion annual budget and a roster of employees that includes TSOs (or airport screeners). – Canada Free Press

Worries about harmful radiation, virtual strip searches, inappropriate “pat downs” and molestations, theft of personal items, and the verbal abuse of the traveling public, are resulting in regular citizens speaking up for their rights.

TSA claims you have the right to refuse scans, however, it has become clear that opting out exposes one to more ‘invasive’ treatment, which, in some cases, leads to delayed travel, embarrassment, charged emotions and anger, or even arrest and prosecution.

This is what happened to Andrea Fornella Abbott, who recently was found guilty of disorderly conduct and sentenced to one year of probation for standing up for her 14-year old daughter’s rights and not allowing TSA screeners to ‘pat-down’ or touch the child.

The common sensical act of not permitting strangers to put their hands on the private parts of her teenage daughter comes with a price tag, however, it also lights the way for others who’s intuition is already telling them that we are in grave danger of become a new breed of highly obedient slaves.

Just like Andrea, many travelers have already paid the price for being awake and standing up for their rights and beliefs. As the world transforms around us and we enter the age of enlightenment, many more students, employees, drivers and regular citizens will jeopardize their comfort and convenience, be publically humiliated, or disrupt their daily lives in order to spark a revolution. Movements, such as TSA opt-out week taking place during this Thanksgiving week, will give more individuals the confidence to stand up to tyranny, despite threats of retaliation by TSA, and pursue life with renewed awareness of the power of the individual, at whatever cost.

There is no single grand act that can bring about a revolution, only a thousand daily unsung acts of individual courage can do that.

What price are you paying for being ‘awake’ during the waking times?’

About the Author

Alex Pietrowski is an artist and writer concerned with preserving good health and the basic freedom to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. He is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com, and an avid student of Yoga and life.

22 Comments on "Opting Out and Paying the Price of Being Awake"

most of us who are active in the 9/11 TRUTH movement are now targets of our government. I personally have suffered DIRECT RETALIATION via NSL’s served on my banking and internet provider, e-mails, etc.

now, jobs are hard to get due to the blacklisting. so the tactic is to STARVE US OUT when we protest or speak out about wrongdoing.

the America that I knew is dead. It died on November 22nd., 1963, while I was still a young boy. It died then. I just did not have time to
catch up with the death.

It is probably better to say “started to die on November 22, 1963″ I don’t think we can say America is technically dead yet. Comatose is probably a better word. This article is about peaceful revolution. Peaceful revolution can work. It will take time and cooperation between the many rebel factions.

When will death be certain? When you hear the American version of “Zeig Heil” on the streets of every American town and the last bands of rebels are taken away to the woods to be exterminated.

Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It’s seeing through the facade of pretence. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true.

They have already taken my life. I am now homeless with cancer and diabetes, only breathing oxygen and eat what food I can get donated. Seven years ago, I was doing my best to expose corruption in the government, military, local sheriffs/police, and especially their close relationship with “private security” firms and sub-contractors (often foreign or run by dual-citizens). They oversee our ports, our transportation systems, our communications, our infrastructure, etc.

I had my homes and cars broken into, received many threats and even several attempts on my life. I fled to Canada and claimed political asylum. BIG mistake! I was kept a virtual prisoner in my own tiny remote cabin, not “allowed” to work or travel freely without twice weekly check-ins. I always rejected any offers for public “welfare” assistance. I remained reclusive for my own safety and to protect anyone who knew me from being linked to a “dissident” like me.

I “rebelled” by bartering for food/rent until an unscrupulous landlord illegally evicted me, robbed me blind, and had my truck illegally impounded (after stuffing it with my tools and other property). He set me up and helped to get me deported. After five and a half years of trying to be free, I was living on the streets of NW Washington.

Now that I have been homeless for over one year, I finally decided to do what I said I would never do… sign up for “social networking”. I created numerous blogs, and just opened a Facebook account. Not ONE of my former friends, family, or anyone else responds to any of my messages. So, either EVERYONE I have known in my past hates me for some reason, or none of my messages are getting through. The only other thing that comes to mind is that they have been lied to or are afraid. Perhaps they have been convinced I truly am insane or “dangerous”. Either way… I am floating alone.

Have you thought about starting a twitter – it’s probably the easiest way to get your views across to the masses. If you use a hashtag with trending words it will help get your tweets noticed. Not much I know, but a suggestion now you’re embracing social networking. David Icke has a twitter, maybe you could tweet him and ask him to retweet?

I am sorry you are homeless. That sucks especially in the winter.
I have discovered it’s best, if you’re into exposing corruption, to do it anonymously if you can. You are fighting the folks who don’t play fair, after all.

Your best bet is to make a new group of friends and start over. People tend to shut out other people who they think will endanger them or embarrass them, so it may not even be that your former acquaintances were poisoned against you so much as that your crusade makes them uncomfortable. That’s harsh, but people are just like that. Good luck to you.

Thank you for a very well-written and insightful article! You offer a great perspective on how change really occurs.

I would add that when people perform jobs merely for money, they allow themselves to be used for their own enslavement. What do you do with your time and energy? Saying no to a task, even if it’s your only job offer, is power and freedom.

Yet I do not believe in subjecting oneself to arrest and abuse at the hands of ‘authorities’. Avoid that smartly as much as possible – don’t encourage it. It sets a bad example – instead treat yourself with excellence and compassion and avoid those who would harm you in any way, even emotionally.

In the example you gave, the mother could also have protected her daughter, far more effectively, by not going to the airport in the first place. Stay home instead, despite the inconvenience and loss of pleasure.

Often the things we don’t do, the places we don’t go, and the experiences we don’t have, are powerful experiences themselves, and send powerful messages.

I don’t disagree with you Alex but you’re second paragraph might also see youre way to a park bench , good proposal but you need 100 million to do it , most people are living hand to mouth, week to week,….not having a go ,just saying

Easily. And beyond the park bench, then what? It means starting a new life, basing your life on a new foundation. That does take courage, similar in some ways to being willing to be arrested in a protest.

If you are living hand to mouth, you also don’t have as much to lose – try different approaches (and yes, I’ve been there and am there). You don’t have to work for Mega Slave Corp – there are always alternatives, even if they are inconvenient or difficult. New steps create new possibilities for freedom from tyranny, and that takes courage like maybe we’ve never tried before.

It’s going to get a lot more intense than it is now – prepare to lose everything, and maybe find something else much more promising.

I can relate to everything , not to the level of Kevin above but am generally considered barking mad by my immediate family, just trying to explain how smart meters are creating sick houses [ noticed the electrical boxes are more often than not located on the outer wall of the master bedroom ???]. Why do we have no wrights regards GMOs in fast food , we’ve been growing GMO canola for a long time, used for frying all that chicken and fries, can’t get anyone to see chemtrails, well they look but really don’t give a damn. Why are 1st world countries being overloaded by 3rd worlders to the extent that all services down here are being cut to the bone in order to pay for it all, no public housing , thats all reserved for the newcomers, we have 2 million on the poverty line and over 120 thousand living in tents ,cars or park benches, we are rapidly being turned into a giant quarry with a view as all our manufacturing is shipped offshore along with our natural gas and mineral resuorces, supposedly benefitting all Australians, yea right,this situation is reflected across the developed world and I’m sure most here know why and by whom , but for me to mention that around here can get me some serious down time with even being spoken to, hope your’e situation improves Kevin , your’e last sentence sums it up mate but maybe were not as alone as we think… have a good week end

Do you want the TRUTH, about the JFK Assassination? CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH?

LBJ and the CIA killed JFK. Period. LBJ was at the center. LBJ and Clint Murchison controlled Texas poly-tricks, but the only power great enough to pull off the hit, was 1) the CIA, and/or, 2) the Mafia. The CIA either used one of its own hit-men, or the Mafia provided one.

Get started by reading this excellent introduction/overview, to LBJ’s involvement:

Let us not forget about RFK. His Assassination/Murder was ALSO covered up. Most people are not aware of this, however, with his brother, JFK’s Assassination getting most of the “alternative” media coverage. Sirhan Sirhan was, like Lee Harvey Oswald, simply a PATSY. Proven.

We’re already “a new breed of highly obedient slaves.” The 14th Amendemet only elevated the slaves to the new slave status of US [c]itizens, having only the priviledges granted by Congress: not the God given rights of the Constitution. And, when they tricked State Citizens into saying they’re US citizens, they lost their State Citizenship. With this “word magic” they’ve enslaved Us all.

I love you and always have Alex and WTs! I learn a lot from your articles and wish I could offer great ideas back, but overall, painful as it can be, it’s better to wake up and be awake, and pay the price, than it is to remain a passive sheep in one’s own slow motion slaughter. America will collapse, hopefully dragging a planet killing mindset behind it, and it’s a wonder it hasn’t already.

I almost agree with the comments that “America” died with JFK, but truth is “America” never existed to begin with, unless you were well born, or quickly made money, and even some of those folks didn’t end up well. It’s always been a topsy turvy dream, sold to sleeping people, so the snakes could eat fatter frogs. Everything here was stolen, and stolen again, and built on the back of slavery and theft. We have both the blessing (we can more easily see its outcome and become aware) and curse (going to be some karmic hard times for certain) to be alive in these times.

Myself, I woke up too early, thanks to being adopted, JFK, civil rights and Vietnam and have paid a severe price in speaking out and being an activist in being beaten, blacklisted, too often jobless, with hackers, cyber stalkers, and life crushing trolls traced directly to the rogue government. Like you all, I saw the value and wealth of my relatives stripped away and shipped overseas, while mealy mouthed officials wept crocodile tears of their graves while taking away every right they’d suffered for. We live in topsy turvy reality, where thieves, cons and liars seem to hold sway but reality can shift dramatically. And fast!

It will always be better to wake up (painful as it can be) than benefit by the present false reality. I have found through all this, in spite of all the trauma, I am not looking or acting my age, and have ended up far more intelligent than I ever thought. Without proper resources I’ve ditched America (for now) and living in a (supposed) 3rd world nation, where they don’t foment war for profit and empire, and people dream and live a life outside the petro dollar/corporate media construct. Wish me luck as I wish you all luck. Yes, “enlightenment” can be painful, but love is painful. Love is pain. But better to be in love than not. When it is all said and done, those are the memories that will count.

Video – Here’s an inspiring video about how Josh Yandt’s simple act of kindness changed his life, left a dramatic impact on the hearts and minds of everyone around him, and how he continues to inspire others.

Alex Pietrowski – Our desire to fit in with a group, and the resulting conformity, start at a very early age, thus it is in our nature to be swayed to follow the majority, even if it results in destructive behavior.

Anna Hunt – Nutrient-dense seeds are finally starting to get the attention that they deserve. Packed with healthy fats, protein, fiber and lots of minerals and vitamins, these 7 super seeds are an ideal addition to your diet.

Liberty Baldovino – Researchers are now questioning if exposure to Wi-Fi, and the increasing usage of Wi-Fi connected devices by children and adolescents, are putting the younger generations at a greater risk of health complications in their future.